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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bass — low music
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fine — all right
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bore — to tire
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — finally
  19. dip — to sink
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com